Norma Bartol: Budget priorities out of whack

Updated 9:31 pm, Thursday, May 15, 2014

Cafe Society, a night of Jazz and Blues, will take place June 14 at the Round Hill Community House with Backcountry Jazz, led by Bennie Wallace and his tenor saxophone. For jazz lovers, this is a must, and it includes cocktails, hors d'oeuvres and a light supper.

The Backcountry Jazz causes include the Bridgeport Summer Music Camp, providing nutritious meals, expanding music education into an after-school program, and development of a children's concert program.

On Thursday at Tamarack Country Club, at 6:30 p.m., the Northwest Greenwich Association will have its annual meeting. Given the goings-on in town as regard a new firehouse for the northwest corner and some more help in firehouses in general, the meeting will be of unusual interest to those in the area who have been waiting for the firehouse for more than 12 years.

This is important, backcountry folks. Don't miss it.

When it comes to danger, as far as the budget goes, it takes second place to the glamorous goings on at the high school. And so the wonderful Greenwich Emergency Medical Service was being looked at by the Representative Town Meeting's Town Services Committee. Look by all means, but any thought of messing around with the budget requirement is wrong.

This is a wonderful outfit, as I can attest to having used them twice in the last couple of years. They not only make you feel better, but take care of the hurt until you arrive at the hospital. They are kind and extremely efficient, a fine group.

Then, too, we've had the Fire Department being looked at. Two recent backcountry fires should prove that the new fire station, and more help in Glenville, are extremely significant.

Of course, the budget is the highest ever when it is whacked by the inordinate amount of money being shelled out for the high school. Without knowing how much more will be needed, what does one expect?

I can't help but think of the days when our town was known for its low taxes. My town has gone somewhere, I don't know where, but after many years I do wonder.

Oh, for the Reagan years, and I do not mean this politically speaking. Rather, in those days we considered ourselves the No. 1 country in just about everything. We had made it to the moon and were known as the country that would help others in an emergency. It was a fine time to be alive.

Somehow, all this has changed and I don't wonder. Take the international situation. Financially, both China and Russia are closing that gap, although they may be not quite there, but just wait. The people in both countries are working, and working hard, and have their eyes focused on success, and as we know, there are many who have achieved a millionaire status.

All this is the way it is, evidently, but what bothers me is that we don't like ourselves anymore. We were always an optimistic nation that many in other countries envied, and would plan to become part of the dream if they could get here. Now it seems that we can't do anything right.

Think of all the accidents on the railroads. Then there are the boats, which are also not being handled as they should be.

To say nothing of our school system. Our children are way behind their contemporaries in other countries. According to Frank Bruni's piece in the New York Times, "We are 39th in basic education, 34th in access to water and sanitation, and 16th overall, just two spots above Slovenia."

Obviously, all this is not the way we should think of our country and certainly not the way we did in the past.

Perhaps it is because of our government that doesn't seem to know what it is about. It seems we are being taken for a ride by other governments such as Russia. No wonder we do not feel about our country as we used to. A truly sad state of affairs.

Norma Bartol, a former Greenwich Time reporter and columnist, lives in the backcountry. Her column appears on alternating Fridays. Her email address is normamrfi@gmail.com.